During its press event last month, Amazon announced a multitude of new devices, including a new range of Echo devices focused on the management of Alexa +. Although his new generation AI assistant is still first access, I have been testing it for months and I have found it very capable, with more promising features on the way. Here’s how you can get your hands on it, what it can do for you, and if it is worth investing in one of Amazon’s new brilliant devices to try it.
How to get Alexa +
If you buy one of Amazon’s new echo devices, you have access to Alexa + as soon as you get out of the box, although you have to wait for these products to get started. The Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio arrive on October 29, while the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 will be released on November 12.
Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio (Credit: Emily Forini / Pcmag)
If you can’t wait, Alexa + Early Access is now available in the United States. To start, you can register for Alexa + during the configuration process of a compatible device. Alternately, visit the Alexa + Store page of the company and select Inform me. Or, say “inform me when Alexa + is available” in one of your echo or “Configure Alexa +” devices in the Alexa application.
(Credit: Amazon / PCMAG)
When Alexa + is available, you will receive a notification on your mobile device and a welcome email at the address recorded on your Amazon account. Alexa + will then take you through an introductory process to find out more about your preferences and create a profile. You can also personalize Alexa +, in particular by choosing one of her four male or four female voices.
You can withdraw from early Alexa + access to any time by visiting your membership and subscription page and click Finish early access Next to the name of the service.
When he leaves the beta version, Alexa + will be available for free for first -rate members and $ 19.99 per month for everyone.
What Alexa + can do for you
Alexa’s brilliant is more than simple marketing. In my tests, I noticed that it really became a more capable service. All this is part of what Amazon calls its thrust “Ai Ai”. The idea is that Amazon wants its services, devices and IA model to be accessible wherever you are, as long as you are within reach of one of its smart speakers or displays, or your mobile device.
Although I was initially skeptical about this “upgrade”, I must admit that I found that it is really useful to have easy access to AI. Amazon has largely kept the promise of a smarter and more conversational assistant. It is not as long as Alexa + adds new revolutionary features that other AI models do not offer, but rather that it combines a multitude of functions in an omnipresent service which is incorporated into a variety of devices that I already have.
(Credit: Amazon)
Best questioning
The main role that Alexa + plays in my life is information. I have an echo on my desk that I constantly ask by working, writing or watching movies and television. Even my previous generation point seems better to pick up my voice than intelligent assistants by phone from Apple or Apple, and it is much easier to ask AI a question with my voice rather than interrupting my workflow by opening a new tab and cutting a question in Chatgpt or Gemini. Alexa + is also more responsive and better to maintain a conversational flow of questions, orders and answers than Siri or other assistants.
Contextual reminders
It is also great for alarms and reminders. Beyond the standard notifications in which you can program for an hour and a specific date, Alexa + can provide recurring notifications. For example, to make sure that I have not forgotten to watch the Ryder Cup last weekend, I told Alexa to define a recurring notification to disseminate from the point of echo on my desk every two hours, and not to notify myself when I indicated that I had received the message. You can take advantage of AI to define specific reminders (“Remind me whenever there is a next Buffalo Bills game”), or import reminders of your existing calendar. You may even have Alexa + helping you create new reminders based on emails, and it can generate a colorful color calendar to help manage your family’s activities.
Creation of Playlist
The new Spotify integration means that Alexa + can also provide a soothing (or inspiring) background for your working day. You can ask him to help create a reading list for you by providing the titles of specific songs or artists, or even to obtain AI assistance to build a reading list around a theme or a mood. I asked Alexa + to build a reading list with an autumn theme and I was generally impressed by the results (although there were strange inclusions, like “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac).
Of press information
Alexa + is also good enough for analysis and news. Amazon has teamed up with more than 200 points of sale, including Reuters, the Associated Press, and The Washington PostAnd can adapt a set of news for you according to your preferences. You can get a personalized daily briefing with everything, from political titles to sporting results to the news of your favorite entertainment properties.
(Credit: Amazon)
Improved memory
It is also much better to remember and incorporate the previous interactions that you have had in current conversations. For example, Alexa remembered my negative comments on a restaurant from which I was dinner and that I mentioned in a conversation on local Chinese places. He can also recall family recipes, as well as the fact that you or a family member suffers from a gluten allergy or is vegetarian.
Improved recommendations
There is also an improved Fire TV integration now. You can ask Alexa for general film recommendations, and that will learn your taste over time. You can also ask more abstract questions for a specific scenario (“Alexa, recommend some films to watch with my father”). There is even an improved awareness of live content, such as sports scores.
Integration of well-being
Amazon also tries to find a foot in the wellness space, with Alexa + in Vanguard. This can push you to train when it recognizes that there is free time in your schedule, or gently encourage you to start ending when it ends late. The company plans to extend its well-being offer in the near future thanks to partnerships with Wyze and Withings, which offer intelligent household appliances and medical quality devices, such as air purifiers and smart ladders.
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All still to come
There is much more on the way, including fairly basic deployments, such as Alexa + on navigators. Beyond that, many of the upcoming features are linked to the new Amazon devices.
Omnissense
For example, the new Echo devices will understand the sensors omnisenens in a disturbing manner. These combine technologies such as Wi-Fi radar and ultrasound to detect when a specific user enters a room and can provide contextual updates, reminders or content suggestions. They will also include improved noise filtering, allowing the device to more easily detect the word wake even in noisy environments.
House hub
Intelligent screens will include access to the Alexa + Home center, part of Amazon’s thrust in the integration of wider smart houses. From your home, you can display the ring flows in the ring (or receive a summary of the AI of the activity that the cameras have recorded) and control all the intelligent devices connected to your network, which can now include thousands of compatible partner devices such as ZigBee, Matter and Thread.
(Credit: Amazon)
Alexa + Store
There is also the next Alexa +store, which is developing on the traditional Amazon Digital window by including access to applications like Doordash, Taskrabbit, Uber, Fandango and much more. It will allow you to shop directly on one of these services, as well as to perform tasks such as the fact that the AI model reserves a restaurant reservation or buy your film tickets.
That you need one of Amazon’s new devices for Alexa + will fully depend on your use case, but personally, I do not yet see a pressing need to upgrade. The omnissense functionality does not shiver me, and my current echo point is perfectly useful for my intelligent speaker and my “ambient” needs.
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That said, if you intend to use Alexa + as a heart of an intelligent domestic network (in particular the one that includes rings or flashing cameras, or a dedicated fire TV), one of the new screens is a convincing hub at a fairly reasonable price compared to competing devices.
About our expert
Experience
Alan is a scriptwriter / publisher of experienced technology with experience in reports in newspapers. His work appeared in Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, The Escapist, Espn, PC gamer and a multitude of other points of sale. He has more than twenty years of experience as a journalist, author and publisher.
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